India Moves to Launch Air Cargo Links With Afghanistan Amid Strengthening Ties

By Staff, Agencies

India is preparing to open air cargo services with Afghanistan to boost bilateral trade, according to Indian foreign ministry official Anand Prakash. The decision follows a visit to New Delhi by the Taliban’s Trade Minister, Nooruddin Azizi.

Prakash said on Friday that air freight corridors connecting Afghanistan with Delhi and Amritsar have been activated. “All formalities from our side are over,” he stated, noting that cargo flights will begin once Afghanistan completes its required paperwork.

Azizi urged India to expand trade and establish cargo hubs with Afghanistan. The Taliban administration has been seeking access to grain, medicine, and industrial supplies after Pakistan shut its border with Afghanistan in October following military tensions.

India has backed Afghanistan in its recent dispute with Pakistan and reopened its embassy in Kabul in October after four years of closure.

The mission had previously been downgraded to a technical office following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

While Afghan carriers currently operate passenger flights to Delhi, Indian airlines do not fly to Afghanistan.

Pakistan continues to bar Indian carriers from its airspace due to tensions stemming from an attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year.

India and Afghanistan have generally maintained friendly relations, and the new air corridors are expected to deepen economic engagement between the two nations.